


Second Chances

by SamuraiGrl89



Category: Fantastic Four (Movies 2005-2007), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt Johnny Storm, Mentions of Rape, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Slow Burn, possible major character death, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-24 12:19:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19723546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamuraiGrl89/pseuds/SamuraiGrl89
Summary: Sometimes second chances happen when an apology is made. Other times, it happens when the half the world has vanished into dust.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I had posted this story a few years ago and it was just a Fantastic Four piece, but I couldn't really figure out an ending or really where to go from the first chapter...so it just sat in my files...not go anywhere fast. After seeing Endgames and laughing when Captain America referred to his ass as "America's ass", I genuinely thought it was something Johnny would say about himself. Which is sort of how this story came to be. I have done a little bit of re-writing of the first chapter, but yes. That is all. Hope you guys like it!

_A shiver ran down her spine as one hand closes around her throat while the other works at unbuttoning her jeans. Jerking away, she let out a choked cry as his hand tightened around her throat. The man chuckles as he slowly grinds himself against her body._  
"Stop." she whimpered. Her mind screamed at her to cry out, fight back, do something, but fear had paralyzed her and she could only pray that Johnny would find her soon. Cold-blue eyes seemed to read her mind as he scoffed.  
"Your knight isn't coming for you. Not anymore. He's long gone sweetheart."  
Hastily he shoved her jeans and underwear down before pulling away just enough to flip her around, slamming her chest against the cold brick wall. The metallic sound of a zipper as he undid his own pants echoing through the empty ally.  
"No! Don't! Please stop!" She cried between the sobs.  
His sadistic laugh echoes through the damp alley. Tears ran down her already stained cheeks. She's about to cry out when she sees someone standing at the end of the alley. The street lamp just above him is enough for her to make him out. The familiar blue eyes, she had often found comfort in, stared on as the man pressed his erection against her back. She sobs as she stares at Johnny, begging him to help her. For a brief moment, he just stands there before he shakes his head and walks away.  
"NO! Johnny! Please don't leave!" The anguished pleas go unanswered.  
Her tear filled eyes focused only where her friend once stood. She doesn't hear him laugh at you, doesn't even notice him release her to unzip his own pants.  
"You really thought he cared about you? You're weak. Needy. You're nothing but a dirty slut."  
With a cold laugh, he grabbed her hips and forced himself into her.  
Maya jolts awake screaming. Her eyes frantically scanning the room before looking down at her sheets. The cold dark alley was gone, replaced by her warm bed. There's no one around, no cold laughter. Just the sound of her own heavy breathing.  
She can still feel him on her. In her. Suddenly a sob bubbles up from her followed by another as her breathing becomes more erratic as the nightmare replays in her head. Clutching her head, she screwed her eyes shut.  
_"Weak. Needy."_  
"Stop it." She whispered praying for the images to stop.  
_She feels her heart drop as he shakes his head and walks away. "He doesn't care about you..."_  
"You're just a dirty slut."  
"Stop!"  
Diving for her nightstand, she hastily picks up the phone and dialed the last call. She attempts to take deep breaths, while the dial tone rings. By the third ringtone, she's hyperventilating and by the fourth, she's not sure she'll be able to talk, as her sobs become worse.  
"Hey, you've reached Johnny storm-  
Hello?"  
At the drawl of Johnny's voice, she knows he's barely awake. Muffling her sob with her hand, she is filled with guilt and shame. Suddenly she regrets calling him at this hour.  
"Hello?"  
"H-hi, Johnny." She cringes when the words escape, but her fear was far stronger than her regret.  
"Maya? What's wrong?"  
"I-I'm r-really s-sorry. I s-shouldn't h-have. B-but it w-was s-so ba-ad- "  
"Maya. Breath. Ok?"  
Despite being on the phone she nods, taking a shaky breath in.  
"I want you to keep doing that, I'm coming to get you. Give me twenty minutes alright?"  
She takes another deep breath in and nods again.  
"Good girl. Just hold on."  
With that, he hung up. A small whimper escaped from her. Placing her hands and phone in her lap, she glanced around the dark room. There was no sign of anyone else being there, she knew she should feel safe. This was her home.  
Another quick surveying of the room and she hesitantly got out of bed. With shaky hands, she grabbed a pair of jeans from the dresser along with the camouflage shirt with red headphones that Johnny had given her after she left the hospital. She gently held it against her face, the faint smell of his cologne still present.  
Once dressed, she grabbed her cell phone from the bed and walked out to the living room to wait on the couch. Staring at the tiled floor, she let herself take in the cologne. It was the first time she wore it, and having it on Johnny's scent became a bit stronger. While it was comforting, her stomach knotted up, remembering how much of an effect he had on her.  
A tear ran down her cheek as she silently cursed to herself as she hastily took the shirt off and stuffed it in the back of her closet before grabbing a new one.  
_I shouldn't have called him. I shouldn't have called._  
Memories flashed in her mind as she let out a sob and crumbled to the floor. 

_1 year ago_  
Walking out of the bar, she sighed. She didn't know why she went, she didn't drink and never really liked the music they played there. A part of her had hoped to meet new people but she chuckled to herself as she scratched the back of her head.  
She had just moved to New York a week ago from LA with the dream of performing at the Met or on Broadway. The problem was that she didn't know anyone here and while she loved singing, she wasn't the most outgoing of people. Which is why she's walking back home at 8 on a Friday night. Not even half an hour at the bar did she realize it was a mistake going there.  
'Oh well. Can't say I didn't try.'  
From the corner of her eye, she glanced at the random couples and groups of women and men walking past her. Possibly to the bar she just left. A ping of envy struck her heart. A reminder of why she rarely went out.  
Lost in thought, she doesn't notice the man until it's too late. Dragging her deep into the nearest alleyway, he began to force himself on her.  
Opening her mouth, her attempt to scream was interrupted by the man's clammy hand clamped over her mouth. Swiftly he undid her jeans and hastily shoved them down just enough to keep her from kicking.  
Arms pinned between her body and his made it impossible to shove him off. Tears swelled up at the corner of her eyes as panic began to take over. Another failed attempt to get him off her, resulted in the man removing his hand from her mouth and closing it around her throat.  
"Now now. Stop struggling and I'll make you feel good." The man sneered. Staring into his deep blue eyes, Maya could see how much he was enjoying this.  
'Have to think, have to get away. Think Maya!'  
Taking a deep breath, she nodded forcing herself to relax as she played La Traviata in her head. To her relief, the man smiled as he loosened his hold on her throat.  
"That's a good girl."  
Maya didn't acknowledge him, the ending of the song coming to mind. Upon hearing the sound of his zipper being pulled down, she began quickly humming the rest of the song. Coming to the last two notes, she took a deep breath and sang the E6. The note and his scream echoed through the alley. Grasping his ear, he pulled away crying in pain.  
"You bitch! You fucking. Stupid little bitch!"  
She barely has her jeans pulled up before he stormed up to her and backhands her across the face. The force being enough for her to slam the side of her head against the wall sending her into darkness.  
The muffled voice of someone is the first thing she's aware of but with the ringing in her ears, it's impossible to make out the words. Cracking her eyes open, she let out a small whimper as the alley tilted back and forth making her feel sick. Swallowing down the bile, she groggily looked around. The cool night air on her butt made aware that once again her jeans were pulled down.  
"Don't." Her voice barely a whisper.  
Her attacker's clammy hands spread her cheeks and mutters something Maya can't understand. A wave of dizziness washes over her. Eyes rolling back, it takes all her strength to keep from passing out.  
"No!" A bit louder. But the man doesn't stop as she feels the head of his shaft press against her ass.  
'No! Don't. I don't want this.'  
"Someone help! Help me!" What was meant to be a scream, turned out to be no louder than normal speaking level as her voice cracked with each word.  
"No one can hear you, sweetheart. I'm going to take my time with you."  
Emphasizing his point, he slowly rubbed his cock between your cheeks. She suppressed a shudder, feeling like all hope was lost.  
One last glance back at the entrance of the alley, she gasped as she watched a man talking on his cell walking by.  
"Help!" She silently cursed as her voice cracked and tried again. "Help! Please!"  
It was louder than before and thankfully the man stopped and looked over at you. Not wanting to risk losing her last hope, Maya cried out again. Without hesitation, the stranger hung up and quickly made his way over.  
"Hey!"  
Hearing the newcomer, the man cursed out loud. Suddenly the man pushed away from her as he hastily retreated with the stranger following right behind. Whether from the dizziness or overwhelming relief, Maya's legs give out sending her to the cold damp ground. The feeling of the damp ground against the side of her thigh reminding her of her state of dress. Any attempt at standing goes out the window at the sound of footsteps quickly getting closer.  
'Oh god. He's coming back.'  
Fueled by fear, she keeps her back to her attacker as she clenches her fist waiting for him to get close enough for her to strike. The footsteps were slow as they get closer and with each step her heart races faster.  
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she lifts her arm throwing her elbow back. With a sudden yelp and a warm hand blocking her attack, her eyes snap open to find a young man on his knees kneeling back to avoid being jabs in the side of the head.  
"It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you." Gently he released her arm as he sat up. "What's your name?"  
His blue eyes were the first thing she noticed. The sincere worry very apparent and put her a bit at ease.  
"Maya." The tremor in her voice made her wince. However, looking back at the young man, he greeted her with a warm smile before he shrugged off his leather jacket. Placing it over her shoulders, her body shuddered at the heat emanating within it.  
"Think you can stand, Maya?"  
Pulling the jacket closer, she slowly nodded.  
"Ok."  
Sitting back a bit, the man chewed on his lower lip as he looked her over. Before she had time to feel self-conscious, he clicked his tongue and stood to his feet. Reaching over, he helped her put on the jacket and had her zip it up.  
"Alright, you ready?"  
A small nod was all the confirmation he needed. Moving to his feet, he quickly moved behind her. Kneeling down, he placed his hands around her waist and slowly lifting her to her feet. Her legs were still wobbly, but looking down, she let out a shaky sigh of relief to find the jacket was long enough to hide her from any further embarrassment.  
"Thank you." She said softly.  
"Your welcome."  
As he kept her from falling over, Maya pulled her pants back on. Once adjusted, she scanned the alley floor before she spotted it. Close to the entrance lay her purse. Pulling away from the young man's grasp, she slowly walked over to it. Thankfully she managed to pick it up without falling over. A quick inspection inside proved nothing was stolen and aside from the mud on the bottom, there was hardly any damage to the faux tan leather.  
"Look is there anyone you can call?"  
Her body stiffened at the question.  
'My family are back in California...I should...But the dogs...and the house...I just got here...I can't do that to them'  
Swallowing the lump that began to form in her throat, she shook her head.  
"No. I don't know anyone here."  
The man said nothing in response. Listening to the cars drive by, the music from the bar pulsing a block away, guilt began to eat at Maya's gut.  
'He was probably heading somewhere when he was walking by...He should have to stay-'  
"Come on."  
Shaken from her thoughts as he wrapped an arm around her.  
"What?"  
"I'm taking you to the hospital and then you're gonna stay with me for a bit."  
Maya's body tensed at the statement. "But I don't even know you!?"  
A part of her felt guilty for the harshness of her tone but the other was terrified of who this man was.  
"I'm Johnny. Also known as The Human Torch, but my friend's call me Torch." He said with a lightness that under normal circumstances would have made her roll her eyes. But now, she just stared at the man named Johnny with confusion and slight apprehension. His smile faltered a little as he continued. "Look, I know you don't know me. But given what just happened, I guess I just thought you shouldn't be alone…Maya?"  
"Maya."  
"Hey. Wake up."  
Slowly Maya opened her eyes to a familiar face. One she hadn't seen in months.  
"Johnny…"  
Furring his brows, he gently pushes her bangs out of her face before pulling her into a hug. She lets out a small sob as she holds onto him. The embrace doesn't last long before he pulls away.  
"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have called."  
"So it was another nightmare."  
Not so much a question as it was a statement and the underlying coldness in his voice made her gut churn.  
"I'm sorry." She whimpered.  
Gently, he brushes away the stray tears with his thumb before cupping her face and it takes all her willpower not to lean into the touch. But the touch ends as quickly as it came, as he stands up, pulling Maya up with him.  
"Alright. Come on. Let's go before the paparazzi notice my car downstairs. I look like hell."  
Without looking at her, he stood, pulling her up with him. She said nothing as she tried to hide the hurt that quickly replaced the guilt.  
_I shouldn't have known better._

~

The ride back to The Baxter was quiet and Maya can’t help but feel more anxious about than when she awoke from the nightmare.  
At this point, she welcomed the nightmare.  
As Johnny pulled up to concierge, he got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side, tossing his keys to the valet as he opened her door and walked ahead without her.  
Catching a look of sympathy from the valet, she got out and followed after him, silently wishing she could turn invisible.  
The entrance hall was just as she remembered it. High volt ceiling, with the glossy brown brick walls, that contrasted with a light tan wooden floor that led the elaborately engraved elevator door that had an art deco kind of feel to it.  
The same door opened with a ping, startling her out of her thoughts. Johnny motioned her in and followed suit as he pressed the button to the suit before leaning against the elevator wall.  
“So do you want to tell me about it?” Johnny asked once the doors closed. When she didn't immediately respond, Johnny let out a harsh chuckle. "So this is how it's gonna be? You drag me out of bed at 3 in the morning and won't talk to me."  
The elevator began to heat up and Johnny clenched his jaw. "You're unbelievable you know that."  
"I…"  
"You're always sorry. You expect me to come to your beck and call, but you never-"  
"I HAVEN'T CALLED YOU IN MONTHS!"  
She didn't mean to shout, didn't mean for it to come out. But it did, and it just caused the temperature to spike even more as Johnny stepped right up to you.  
"So what right did you have to call me now?! You know I was the one who was there. Not Sue, not Reed, not Ben. ME! And you shut me out."  
"Because you thought I wasn't good for your image and that I was just using you for your fame."  
"What are you talking about?!"  
The elevator doors pinged open just at that moment, but neither party moved. Johnny stared at her with anger and confusion.  
"I...heard your agent talking with you. I was coming back from the gym and heard my name. And she was you were saying that I was just using you. You just nodded at what she was telling you and I couldn't. I didn't want to make things worse." She cried.  
His brows furrowed and eyes narrowed with confusion before he seemed to realize what she was referring to.  
"Wow. I can't believe you. You really think…" He paused, studying her. "You really think that's what happened. How many times have you called me, in the middle of the night, in the middle of a date or event? How many times have I reassured you, spent hours watching stupid movies that I hate just because I know that it'll make you feel better? And you...You know what, no. Just give me your phone." He snapped, holding out his hand.  
When she didn't give it up, he pushed her against the wall, eliciting a yelp from as he plunged his hand into her pocket and pulling out her cell phone. He quickly entered the combination and with a few touches on the screen, he gave it back.  
"We're done. I deleted my number and I'm blocking yours once you're gone."  
"What…" She felt as if the floor fell right underneath her and her heartbreak.  
"We're. Done. Tell the valet that I said to call a cab and go home."  
"Johnny wait!"  
"No! You want to know what that conversation was about? Rachel was pissed that I didn't go to a party that one of my sponsors was hosting because wouldn't you know it? I was trying to console you! I fired her after she said that you were just using me for my money and that nothing good has come out since I saved you. And you know what...she was right."  
Tears fell down Maya's cheeks as she fell back against the elevator wall in defeat. What could she say? She had suddenly lost the man she loved in a matter of minutes and she knew that she deserved it.  
“You can’t stay here. There’s gonna be a cab waiting for you downstairs.”  
The defeated sound in his voice made her look up but Johnny kept his gaze on the ground.  
“Johnny, please just let me explain.” She pleaded.  
For a moment, a sliver of hope ran through her as he met her gaze. He said nothing though, just glanced back with pain filled eyes before pressing the Lobby button and stepped back as the elevator doors closed on the once, most important thing in her life.  
“Oh god..” She sobbed, letting her legs give out beneath her. 

~

“Maya?!”  
Maya looked up from her position on the floor to find Reed Richards standing above her in front of the elevator doorway.  
“Maya, what happened?!”  
That was all it took for Maya to break down even more. Slowly Reed kneeled down and pulled her into a tight embrace.  
“Hey it’s okay, whatever it is we can figure it out.”  
“No. You can’t. I-I s-screwed e-everyth-thing u-up a-and n-n-now i-it’s a-all g-g-gone.”  
“You need to breath, Maya. Okay? Come on, let’s go up to the suite and we can ta-”  
“NO! I c-can’t.”  
Reed quickly pulled away to look her in the eyes. “Why can’t you go up?”  
“B-be-c-c-cause I-I h-hu-hurt h-him and n-now he h-hates m-me…”  
Her breathing was becoming more erratic the more she tried to explain, so Reed shushed her and pulled her back into his arms. Giving her a reassuring hug, he asked her to explain more calmly. So she did.  
An hour passed and by then her breathing was even and sobs had stopped. Her voice was raspy, though, from the crying or talking, she wasn’t sure.  
“He doesn’t hate you, Maya. He’s just hurting. You know how impulsive he can be. Just give him a few days and talk to him.”  
Maya didn’t respond, she just kept her eyes on the floor.  
“But he did fire his agent. We didn’t know why, just that he said she wasn’t looking out for his best interest.”  
Fresh tears welled up in her eyes at this confirmation and Reed seemed to know exactly what was going through her head.  
“You screwed up, so does everyone else. You just need to apologize and work through it just like with any relationship. But the question is, how much do you love him to fight for him?”  
_Love?_ The thought caused her head to snap up. “What?”  
He chuckled as she finally met his gaze. “You’re not as subtle as you think you are. We always just assumed you had finally had enough waiting around for Johnny to notice. If we had known...well we would have done something to help.”  
Maya swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and slowly wrapped her arms around the older man.  
“Come on. What do you say we get out of this elevator and you can help me with an old experiment I’ve been meaning to work on?”  
Feeling the elevator begin to move, she let out a small laugh and nodded realizing the question was a rhetorical one.  
“Thank you, Reed.”  
“Anytime.”


	2. Chapter 2

Johnny was furious. He couldn’t believe her. After all the time they spent together, she didn’t know him at all.  
Grabbing a bottle of vodka, he quickly uncapped it and took a swig. Hissing as the harsh liquid ran down his throat. Another swig and he slammed the bottle down on the counter. His chest heaving as he tried not to set the kitchen on fire.  
“Having a bad day, kid?”  
The gravelly voice made Johnny cringe before the cynicism took over and he let out a bitter laugh as he turned to look at the large rock figure that was Ben Grimm.  
“You could say that.” Lifting the bottle, he took another large swig.  
“So you and Maya-”  
“I don’t want to talk about it.”  
Ben’s steps faltered before he continued over to Johnny’s side.  
“She messed up, she’s just a kid. If you guys just talked about it.”  
“What part of I don’t want to talk about it, did you not get the first time? And for the record, she’s 27 and two years older than me. Doesn’t really counts as being a kid.”  
“Same could be said for you.”  
Johnny glared at his friend. He knew he should have handled things better and he probably would have had it been anyone else. But the fact that it was her. The fact that she thought he would care what anyone else thought about their friendship.  
“You know a year ago, you would have agreed with your agent. Image was everything to you and when you brought her back here, I thought it was some kind of stunt your agent put you up to.”  
“Seriously!?”  
Ben gave him a pointed look that made Johnny rolled his eyes as he took another large drink.  
“But since she’s been around, you’ve been happy...The point is, people make mistakes. Sometimes they’re unforgivable but sometimes people just need a second chance.”  
With that Ben bid Johnny a goodnight and walked away, leaving Johnny with a million thoughts going through his mind.  
_She should have come to me. She knows me...knew me…._  
With one last swig, he threw the bottle across the room causing it to shatter as it smashed against the wall. It’s contents splashing everywhere.  
A lone tear ran down his cheek as he slumped back against the counter. 

~~~~

(Maya’s POV)  
Maya let out a small yawn as she sat up, stretching her arms and back, relishing the cracking along her spine that relieved some of the stiffness from falling asleep in an awkward position. Blinking away the sleep from her eyes, she took in her surroundings.  
Machines on various tables in the round room, paper was strewn everywhere and an arm stretching across the room to get a random book laying on top of the main random book stacks.  
Reed’s lab.  
She frowned as the memories of last night came flooding back.  
_It wasn’t a dream…_  
Slowly she pushed herself away from the table she seemed to have fallen asleep at, which caught Reed’s attention.  
“Morning...Or I guess I should say evening.” He said poking his head from around the corner as his arm returned to normal, book in hand.  
“What time is it?”  
“6. I thought you could use the sleep.”  
“Shit. I’m really sorry.”  
Reed gave her a small smile and reassured her it was fine. She gave him a tiny nod in thanks.  
“I should go. I don’t want to cause any more trouble for Johnny.”  
Before he could convince her otherwise, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him for one last hug, which he returned.  
“You’ve got to be shitting me…”  
~~~~

(Johnny’s POV)  
“You’ve got to be shitting me.” He muttered, seeing his former friend and his Brother-in-Law standing before him.  
“Johnny, I-” Maya started as she hastily pulled away from Reed.  
“I see you’ve moved on. You realize he’s married right? So he won’t be able to devote every spare moment to you.”  
The pain he saw appear on her face made his gut clench. Deep down, he knew that wasn’t what he was seeing, but something about the scene made him die inside and the words were out before he realized it.  
“Johnny, she was just leaving,” Reed responded, a warning tone to his voice as he narrowed his eyes at Johnny.  
“What the hell is she even doing here, Reed? In case you didn’t know, we’re not exactly friends anymore.”  
Once again, the words were spoken before his head had a chance to filter them and there wasn’t a person in the world who couldn’t see the girl crumbling in front of him. He wanted so bad to pull her into his arms and tell her he didn’t mean any of it, but the other half of him was hurt as well and the feeling of betrayal was still fresh.  
So lost in his thoughts, he almost missed Reed explain that he asked Maya to help him with an experiment.  
“To help you? How the hell is she going to help you? Last I checked, she was a graphic design and wannabe singer, not a scientist.”  
"You're right, but I need an extra pair of hands and Maya was up for helping me."  
It was one thing he always found annoyingly endearing about her. She was always offering to help when she was here. Said she felt bad not helping out. Johnny pushed the memory back down and huffed.  
"Whatever. I'm heading out. Don't wait up for me."  
And with one last look at Maya, turned and walked out, heading to the nearest club. 

~~~~

Since that night two weeks ago, he hadn’t seen her. Oh, he knew that she was around, occasionally he would catch the lingering scent of her perfume if she just left the room or he would catch her voice echoing from down the hall in Reed’s lab as she talked with him or Sue or Ben.  
He knew him managing to avoid her wasn’t purely coincidental and that she was actively doing her best to make sure they never ended up in the same room. She wasn’t exactly subtle or quiet, given a startled curse he would hear before he walking to a room that she was in. He wasn’t sure if he should feel flattered or insulted, however for the time being he didn’t care. He was heading to another party tonight and the only thing that mattered was figuring out how many beautiful women he was going to bring back this night.  
He was just reaching for his maroon button up shirt when there was a loud explosion that shook the entire building.  
“Shit! What the hell was that?!”  
Hastily throwing the shirt on, he ran for his bedroom door when a bright blinding blue light filled blew past the door and engulfed him. He let out a cry and closed his eyes as he braced himself for something. Anything. But as quickly as the light came, it vanished.  
Johnny slowly tried to steady his breathing as he lowered his hands and peaked around the room. Everything seemed fine. A small chuckle of relief left him before it hit him.  
“Sue!”  
Rushing out of the room, he nearly collided with Ben.  
“What the hell was that?!” Ben asked as Johnny stabilized himself.  
“No idea.” He muttered as he started walking away before breaking into a run with Ben following close behind.  
“Reed! Sue!” He called out slowing once he reached the lab. “Sue!”  
“Johnny?!”  
Hearing the voice above him, he spun around and breathed out a sigh of relief as she and Reed both came out from the box from the second floor. “Oh thank god. What the hell happened?”  
Noticing that Reed was leaning heavily against Sue, he ran up the stairs and traded places with her, helping him down and to the nearest chair.  
“Hey, what happened back there?”  
“I...I don’t know.” Reed stammered, looking up at Sue who carefully placed a hand on his shoulder. “That wasn’t supposed to happen...Maya...Maya! Where’s Maya?!”  
“What do you mean? I thought she had to work late tonight?”  
Three pairs of eyes looked at him with confusion and intrigue. He rolled his eyes. “I overheard her talking with Ben the other night.”  
He didn’t miss the way Sue’s shoulders sunk at the statement, nor did he miss the pang of jealousy when he remembered how close Maya was with the others lately. Quickly he pushed the feeling down as Reed spoke up.  
“She came over two hours ago, apparently the deadline for that design she was working on, got pushed back. They let everyone leave an hour early to make up for the overtime they all had been putting in.”  
Reed winced as he sat up and reached for his phone and dialed her number.  
“Wait, so if she came here where is she?” Ben asked. Apparently also not aware of her presence.  
“Shit, she’s not answering.”  
Johnny slowly looked around the room as Reed tried her cell again. There was no sound of ringing nor any sign of anyone else in the room. “Reed, what were you trying to do here?”  
Reed let out a sigh as he hung up again. “We were working on teleportation. We had done several successful tests with inanimate objects and some lab rats. With all the calculations we thought it would be safe to try…”  
The blood drained from Johnny’s face as he whipped his head around. “Reed what did you do?”  
“It was just a test, supposed to send her to the other room. But something was wrong and before I could stop the machine...there was a loud bang and then this light came out from the machine.”  
Johnny clenched his jaw when something caught his eye at the entrance of the machine. Slowly he walked over and picked up a small pendant. It was a British Pound wrapped in wire to form a pendant. The same one that Maya had wrapped after she found it in her bag a month after their trip to London. She never took it off.  
“There’s a chance she’s still out there Johnny.”  
“There’s a chance she could be dead!” He shouted, spinning around to tower over Sue. The reality of his own words suddenly hit him and suddenly his legs gave out beneath him. “Oh god. If she’s gone...If she’s gone...Oh god, what if she’s gone?”  
Sue wrapped her arms around him trying to calm him down as he clutched her arm trying but unsuccessfully to keep the tears from falling.  
“Johnny, I promise. I will do everything to get her back-”  
“Don’t!” He snapped as he stood up. “I don’t want to hear it. I need some air.”  
Without another word, he walked out of the lab and to the elevator. He needed to be anywhere but at the Baxter.  
A million thoughts flooded his mind. How could this have happened? Why did this have to happen? Why did it have to be her? He was mad at her, but he never wanted this. He could only hope that Reed was right and she was out there somewhere.  
Silence. That was what snapped him out of his thoughts. Where there should have been the normal hustle and bustle of New York City, was just silence. Cars riddled the street, some collided with others, and some parked randomly in the middle of the street. Hardly a person in sight.  
“Johnny!” Sue called out. Johnny turned to see his friends stop just a few feet from him, taking in the strange sight of the city.  
“What happened...”  
Under normal circumstances, he would have laughed at the gaping look on Reed’s face, but he knew he was feeling the same feeling of confusion and underlying fear.  
“Johnny, can you do a sweep of the city?”  
“Yeah...Yeah.” He said nodding before jogging down the block and bursting into flames as he flew off. 

~~~ 

Everywhere, practically empty streets with abandoned cars and stores. Even the office buildings and apartment complexes seemed almost deserted.  
He was heading back when he landed just a few blocks from the Baxter, taking in the devastation around him. He ran his hands over his face. Panic was beginning to set in. He didn’t know what to do and with Maya being gone, it was all becoming too much.  
Just as he felt like he was going to lose it, the sound of a loud engine caught his attention. Looking up behind him was a small jet lowering to the ground. Johnny lit up his fists, unsure if the people on board were friend or foe.  
The back of the jet opened up and three strange looking people walked out. A man in a metal suit, that looked like something out of a comic book. A woman in a catsuit with bleach blond hair, who would totally be Johnny’s type if it weren’t for the gun aimed at his head. But the one who caught his attention the most was the man in the navy blue suit with a blacked out start.  
_Holy shit...he looks like me._  
“Who are you?” The man said. And he sounds like me...the hell is going on?  
“Johnny Storm. Who are you?”  
“Steve Rogers. You work for Thanos?” He said expressionlessly.  
“Who’s Thanos? Why do you look like me? What the hell is going on here?!” He asked hands flaming up again.  
The other’s exchanged looks before putting their weapons away, or in the case of the suit guy, put his arm down, and made their way up to him. Close up, Johnny realized the guy was an inch or two taller than him and larger. Without thinking, Johnny puffed up his chest and tried to stand a little straighter.  
“You really don’t know what’s going on here?” The man asked, examing Johnny closely.  
“Look all I know Reed was working on some kind of experiment, there was an explosion and a flash of light...and next thing we know...we’re here. Where is here? I mean it looks like New York, but not…”  
Looking around, he still couldn’t get a grasp on anything.  
“You said this Reed was working on an experiment? What kind of experiment?”  
“Yea, some kind of teleportation device...he was testing it and my frie…” Johnny swallowed around the lump that began to form as he thought about Maya. “He said something went wrong.”  
Steve nodded, if he noticed Johnny’s pause, he didn’t comment on it. “He didn’t cause this if that’s what you’re thinking. But if you want to come with us, we can explain what’s been going on. Having another scientist with us wouldn’t be a bad thing right now.”  
“Rogers. I found it.” The blond said lifting a weird beeper kind of device.  
“Right. Let’s go get your friends and get out of here.” He said holding out his hand.  
Johnny hesitated before taking it.


	3. Chapter 3

“So you’re telling me that you’re from the 40s…Flew a plan into the ice, where you stayed for 70 years until this...S.H.I.E.L.D company found you and unfroze you...” Johnny said with a brow raised. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe him, he just thought the man that looked like him was insane. 

“Yea. That’s basically it.” Steve confirmed, leaning back in his seat a bit. 

“So you’re like...ancient.” 

The room rolled their eyes at the statement, with Steve chuckling in agreement. “So in your world, there’s only you four? No Avengers, no S.H.I.E.L.D?” 

“No. I mean not that we were aware of. And here, there’s no Fantastic Four?” Reed asked, turning his attention back to the holographic screens with Sue. “This is...So the blast from my machine must have actually worked, but rather than being a simple teleportation, it transported us to an alternate universe...”

As he went back to examining his notes, the room went silent unsure what to say. But there was just one question that Johnny couldn’t hold back anymore. 

“So we got zapped to some alternate universe, where we don’t exist and I’m apparently old with no idea what fun actually is. But that still doesn’t answer one thing.” 

“Which is?” 

Johnny turned his attention to the blond haired woman that he later learned was Natasha Romanoff. “Where’s Maya?” 

Sue and Reed exchanged looks before turning to Johnny. Neither had an answer. 

“Who’s Maya?”   
“She’s my...was my friend. Reed used her in her experiment, but she wasn’t here when shut off the machine. The only thing I found of her was this…” 

Carefully he pulled out the necklace from his jacket pocket, holding it like it was the most fragile thing in the room. No one spoke and for that Johnny was glad. He wasn’t sure how he would respond if they had. 

Rage, resentment, confusion, denial...So many emotions were just whirling inside him and he had no idea how to deal with it. Normally he would go out, party it up with some random girl or two and forget about everything else. But knowing that Maya was out there alone or worse dead. He needed to find her. 

“How long has it been since the snap?” Sue asked, her attention still remaining on Johnny. 

“2 days.” Steve responded. 

“And you’re hoping that the beeper you found will help?” 

“We don’t know what it will do. We just know that Fury had used it just before he vanished. Hopefully whatever signal it’s sending out will help us.” 

Johnny nodded, as did the others and silence once again filled the room. 

~~~~~

2 weeks later

He was restless. He felt like he needed to do something...anything, but sit on the kitchen Island countertop bouncing a tennis ball against the fridge. 

Johnny had managed to fly over New York while Reed and Sue tried to get some kind of signal from her cell, assuming that it was still working, with the occasional help from Dr. Banner, when he wasn’t monitoring the beeper. 

He knew they were losing hope, just like he too was slowly coming to accept that maybe she was gone for good. 

Unshed tears burned his eyes at the thought. He didn’t want her to be dead. He just wanted to see her one more time. Tell her he forgives her, that he’s sorry for being an ass. 

A hand on his shoulder was all it took to break him. His shoulders heaved as he let out a sob. 

“I’m sorry.”   
Johnny knew Steve was trying to comfort him. But it didn’t help. 

“We got into a fight and I ended the friendship. Deleted my number from her phone. Spent weeks avoiding her....I said things that I knew would hurt her...and now she’s gone. And I’ll never get to say I’m sorry. That I didn’t mean it.” 

He hung his head. Tears ran down his cheeks, one or two dripping from the tip of his nose. A sob rose up as he recalled the pained look on Maya’s face the last time he saw her. 

“She’s gone and she died thinking I hate here.” 

Steve gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze and much to Johnny’s relief, he said nothing. 

The silence was soon broken by the clicking of heels against the tile floor. 

“Steve, Rhodey says the signal died.” 

Both Steve and Johnny looked up at the sound of Natasha’s voice. He didn’t notice the way her jaw tensed as her eyes landed on him. Quickly he ran his hand across his face as Steve strode past her and with a small nod to Johnny, she turned and followed the Captain. 

Taking a moment to compose himself, he took a deep breath and slowly released it before hopping down from his perch to go join the others. 

~~~~~

Johnny was pulled into an embrace from Sue as he walked into the room. Ben gave him a soft clap on the back as Steve and the others examined the beeper. 

“I thought we bypassed the battery?” 

“Well, we did. It’s still plugged in. It just...stopped.” Rhodey piped up, just as confused as the others. 

“Reboot it, send the signal again.” Steve ordered. 

An odd feeling overcame Johnny and quickly turned his attention behind him, just in time to see some blond with a Red and Blue uniform on with gold trim, walk past him, his sister and Ben without so much as a glance.

_Who the hell is that?_

As Natasha turned around to leave, she came face to face with the strange woman and without pause, she asked where Fury was. 

“He’s gone.” 

“What?!” 

“He vanished along with half the earth’s population. If you have time, we can explain everything.” 

With that, Steve ushered her in the direction of the conference room. 

~~~~~

It had been 6 days since anyone heard anything from Danvers. Steve, Natasha, and Rhodey have been monitoring any and all activity from the screens in the conference room, while Sue and Reed assisted Dr. Banner researching something. Johnny kind of tuned them out when they began talking science. 

He stayed out of their way by spending most of his days in the training facility. It was the one place that he could expel his anger and not worry about setting the whole building on fire. As he almost had a few days after coming here. 

_“I have to do something, Reed!”_

_“I understand that Johnny, but - “_

_“No, you don’t! You have Sue and Ben knows Alicia is safe, back home. But Maya is out there somewhere -”_

_“Or she’s already gone.”_

_“YOU DON’T KNOW THAT!” He screamed as his body engulfed in flames eliciting a scream from behind him._

_No sooner had he registered the scream, was he suddenly sprayed with foam, dowsing out the flames. Dropping his hands to his side, he turned to see a strawberry blond woman holding a fire extinguisher that was pointed directly at him._

_‘Great, fucking perfect.’  
With a tight smile, Johnny nodded and stormed off. He didn’t know where he was going and he didn’t care. He just kept walking until he managed to find his way to the entrance of the building. _

_“Johnny!” A woman called out after him, her heels clicking against the floor as she ran after him._

_“Johnny! Wait!”_

_He stopped in his tracks with a sigh, shoulders slumping in surrender. The same woman from earlier came in front of him, brows furrowed. She paused for a brief moment._

_“We haven’t met yet. But I’m Pepper and I’m sorry about the whole extinguisher thing back there. I thought you were in trouble...” She paused again, biting her bottom lip. “Look, I get it. You’re scared. I lost someone I love as well. We all have. But if we’re going to try to find a way to fix this, then we need to work together. Not fighting each other.”_

_The woman was barely keeping it together and Johnny couldn’t help but feel slightly ashamed for how he was acting._

_“There’s a jet in the yard. Your sister said you know used to fly, so take the jet and go.”_

_“What?”_

_“Go search for her and take notes of what else is going on out there. Think of it as field research while you’re looking for your girlfriend. But when you get back, you’re going to explain the whole fire thing and no more bursting into flames in the lab.”_

_Johnny immediately pulled her into a hug as he thanked her. She laughed a little as she pulled away._

_“For the record, she’s not my girlfriend, just a friend. Or at least...I hope she is.”_

_Pepper raised a brow, before shaking her head. “Go. The jet is already prepped.”_

_“Oh… about that. I won’t need the jet.”_

_He didn’t wait for her to respond as he ran outside._

_“Flame on!”_

_Fire once again engulfed him and he flew away towards New York City. He was going to find her. He had to._

After he hadn’t seen much of Pepper. She would come by the kitchen to get coffee, but it seemed like he wasn’t the only one keeping to themselves. Couldn’t really blame her after Natasha explained who Tony Stark was, to the group, to New York and most of all to Pepper.   
Johnny pushed away his thoughts and went back to finish his set of pushups when a rumbling noise grew louder causing the building to shake. 

“Shit. Not again.” 

Johnny grabbed his tank top and ran out of the training facility and across the grass lawn just in time to see a spaceship heading towards them with some kind of bright light just beneath it. Looking around, he saw Pepper running out of the main building and made his way over to her side and watched on. 

The closer it got, the brighter the light became and he could make out some kind of figure. It was Danvers. His eyes grew wide as she safely placed the ship on the ground. Not a moment later and the ramp lowered. Slowly but surely a woman with blue skin and what looked like metal embedded in her skin was assisting a frail-looking man down the steps. Steve bolted for the two, taking over for the blue woman. 

“Oh my god…” The woman next to him gasped. 

Taking in her shock and the tears beginning to form, he understood who this man was and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which she didn’t hesitate to grasp before running towards him. 

He watched as the blue woman make her way back onto the ship before looking back at the others, who seemed just as shell shocked as himself but the shock quickly dissolved to confusion. Johnny turned his attention back to the ship to see the same blue woman walking back out with someone bundled in her arms and a raccoon by her side. 

His brow raised at the sight but all questions stopped when he caught sight of the person the blue woman was carrying.

“No…” He muttered walking to her. “No no no.” 

His pace quickened to a jog, stopping just before the woman, taking the limp woman's face in his hands. It was Maya. She was thinner than when he last saw her and her hair was short. _When did she cut her hair?_ But it was her. 

“She’s alive just passed out. You know she doesn’t sleep right?” 

Johnny just nodded, still not believing that she was there. As gently as he could, he took her into his arms and adjusting her head on his shoulder. Relief and joy flooded his chest, with each breath he could feel on the side of his neck. 

“Tony, let’s get you and the kid to sickbay. Just want to run a couple tests and then you can catch us up on what happened up there.” 

Johnny followed the doctor without acknowledging the rest of his friends. The only thing that mattered to him was being there when she woke up.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, long opening chapter but the Avengers will make their appearance in Chapter 2 I promise.


End file.
